More crazy Khalistani Myths

Khalistani Myth : 'All the Gurus were Sikhs'

Khalistanis are usually quick to tell us that the Guru Sahibaans were actually Sikhs belonging to a different faith other than Hindu Dharm. They have even gone as far as telling us that the Mughals were actually confused when it came to describing the Gurus. 

Guru Arjan Devji was the 5th Guru in succession, who became Guru in September 1581 after Guru RamDasji. He was the first of the Gurus to be martyred by the tyrannical Mughals. Guruji's clothing such as : Seli topi(cap normally worn by Hindu saints only ), chola, pyjama, Batva, Dushala, Simrana Mala and the Chandan with which he would do Tilak after taking bath everyday  are kept in the historical town of Doaba. The fact that Guruji wore Chandan Tilak proves our Gurus were all Hindus, addressing Hindus of Punjab at the time. Their audience was mainly Hindu as Sikhism was not known at the time. What they preached was indeed Vaishnava Vedanta in its simplest of form to the wider majority who were downtrodden under the Islamic tyranny. 

This is what Jahangir writes  in his diary the "Tuzuk-i-Jahagiri" ( "Memoirs of Jahangir") about Guruji :

"In Govindwal, which is on the river Biyah (Beas), there was a Hindu named Arjun, in the garments of sainthood and sanctity, so much so that he had captured many of the simple-hearted of the Hindus, and even of the ignorant and foolish followers of Islam, by his ways and manners, and they had loudly sounded the drum of his holiness. They called him Guru, and from all sides stupid people crowded to worship and manifest complete faith in him. For three or four generations (of spiritual successors) they had kept this shop warm. Many times it occurred to me to put a stop to this vain affair or to bring him into the assembly of the people of Islam."

Janhangir's passage is very significant, for it clearly indicates a vital point.

 He clearly indicates that Guru Arjan Devji was a Hindu, who was attracting more Hindus (of Punjab) and Hindu converts of Islam to his teaching and Darbar (i.e. having more success than Jahangir and the Ulama at drawing crowds and converts) - he was definitely as Jahangir said 'keeping his shop warm’.

Farid Bukhari was appointed governor of the Panjab with unlimited powers. Within a few months of the new Emperor’s accession (October 1605) Guru Arjun was tortured to death (June 1606).

Shortly after Guru Arjun Devji's death Shaikh Ahmad of Sarhind wrote to Farid Bukhari:

‘The execution of the accursed kafir of Goindwal is an important achievement and is the cause of the great defeat of the accursed Hindus.’

Ahmad clearly indicates how the death of Guruji , who was the spiritual leader of all Hindus would be a great blow to the Hindus of Punjab, who would now have no other option but of defeat & accept Islam.

In a letter written to Shaikh Farid Bukhari entitled Murtza Khan, the Governor of Punjab, he said: 

''The execution at this time of the ‘accursed Kafir’ of Goindwall…with whatever motive…is an act of the highest grace for the followers of Islam.''He added : ''the Hindus should be treated as dogs. Jazia should be imposed upon them and cow slaughter should be allowed in the open.''

These accounts written by the Islamic occupiers of the time clearly indicate 2 things:

1. Guruji had successfully united the Hindus of Punjab under his spiritual leadership & due to this the Islamic rulers had become envious & insecure, therefore executing Guruji to destroy the morale of the Hindus;

2. He was a Hindu himself who addressed his fellow Hindus of the time through teaching the great spiritual philosophy of Sanatan Dharm which was dear to all the Gurus.

Neo Sikhs, see if you can prove any of this wrong.

Going Back to Classical Raga Shabads & Kirtans

I was at one of my favourite Gurudwaras recently for someone's Akhand Paath & the atmosphere as usual was divine.But the Granthis were as usual ill educated, out of 'SUR' when singing Shabads with filmi tunes  - one must have continued to speak of Macauliffe & how the Christian missionary 'saved Sikhi' for the good of Punjab. Looking around, most of the sangat were either not interested in what the Granthi was saying, nor anyone seemed to know who the hell is Macauliffe even.. Little did this Granthi know the extent of damage & poison that has been the main cause of Macauliffe's mistranslations, manipulations of the Shri Adi Granthji & seeds of anti-Hinduism sown into every Sikh's mind. The type of 'Parchaar' or speeches going on nowadays in most Gurudwaras are actually dragging Sikhi backwards & away from the Guru's original words & preaching. Is it any wonder that Sikhs are lost nowadays? Either we get the most radical brainwashed Khalistani Talibani Sikhs with turbans & beards only as their identity with no clue as to what the original Sanatan Sikhi was as per the Guru's word - or  - we get those who don't even care whether they are Sikhs or not. Their's is just to drink their cash away, eat all types of meat, go to the local Gurudwara for showing off to their Sikh neighbours only - but the true essence of Sikhi is truly withering away daily as seen in most Gurudwaras. The most annoying & disappointing thing about the way in which the Granthis sing Shabads & Kirtans nowadays is no way near to arousing any spirituality within the hearts of the listeners or devotees. Perhaps we ought to demand that these Granthis or Raagis to sing in the original Ragas in which the Shabads are meant to be sung in. 

I'll finish the post with this fantastic video & hope you all enjoy listening to this Shabad Kirtan bani of Shri Guru Angad Devji in its traditional Raga Sri Raga Di Vaar.

WaheGuruji Ka Khalsa
WaheGuruji Ki Fateh

 .

Continuing with Khalistani Myths

Khalistani Myth : ' Brahmins are enemies of Sikhism -'

A well known Myth spread by the venomous Talibani Khalistanis. What they do not tell us is that :

1. Several Sikhs were indeed Brahmins such as Bhai Gurdas, Baba Buddha etc  Chhibber (alternatively Chibber or Chhiber) is a Brahmin clan from Kashmiri and settled in Punjab. They are one of the seven clans of the Mohyals who are Saraswat Brahmins of Kashmir. The other six clans are Bali, Bhimwal, Datt/Dutt, Lau, Mohan and Vaid. Punjabi Brahmins other than Mohyals include Barahis (Twelvers), Bawanjais (Fifty-twoers) and Athwans (Eighters). Most Chhibbers are Hindus,  and were closely associated with the Gurus, especially the ninth and tenth Gurus, Guru Teg Bahadur and Guru Gobind Singh.

2. Guru Gobindji's teacher & mentor was in fact a Kashmiri Brahmin called Kripa Ram Dutt who was well knowledged in warfare, martial arts, Vedas, Upanishads, sanskrit, Farsee & also fought alongside the Khalsa army & died a martyr for Sanatan Sikhi. He taught the young Guru Gobind Singh all the knowledge of Vedas, warfare & martial arts.

3.  Guru Tegh Bahadur's close followers were Kashmiri Pandit Brahmins. Their names were Bhai Sati Dass, Bhai Dayal Dass & Bhai Mati Dass who all were tortured to death by Aurangzeb. They accepted martyrdom instead of being forcibly converted to Islam. They wore the Janeu, tilak & died for Hindu Dharm. It seems Guru Tegh Bahadurji too died for Hindu Dharm, the faith he so much held close to his heart as per his following statement to Aurangzeb: 

'Tin te sun Siri Tegh Bahadur
Dharam nibaahan bikhe Bahadur Uttar bhaniyo, dharam hum Hindu
Atipriya ko kin karen nikandu Lok parlok ubhaya sukhani
Aan napahant yahi samani Mat mileen murakh mat loi
Ise tayage pramar soi Hindu dharam rakhe jag mahin
Tumre kare bin se it nahin

~ Guru Tegh Bahadur's reply to Aurangzeb's ordering him to embrace Islam

.
(In response, Shri Tegh Bahadur says, My religion is Hindu and how can I abandon what is so dear to me? This religion helps you in this world and that, and only a fool would abandon it. God himself is the protector of this religion and no one can destroy it.)

In recognition of the devotion and supreme sacrifice made by the Brahmin Mati Dass, Guru Teg Bahadur bestowed the title of Bhai on him. In course of time, all Chhibbers belonging to the village of Karyala adopted this title. 

4. Bhai Mati Dass was a Mohyal Brahmin of the Chhibber clan. He belonged to the village of Karyala, a stronghold of the Chhibbers, in the Jhelum District in Punjab (Pakistan), about ten kilometres from Chakwal on the road to the Katas Raj Temple Complex. The village stands on the top of the Surla hills.Originally from kashmir, these Pandits had fled the tyranny of Aurangzeb's rule in the valley for a safe haven in Punjab.

Mati Dass was the son of Hira Nand, a disciple of Guru Har Gobind, under whom he had fought in many battles. He survived the Guru, and a little before his death he had entrusted his two sons, Mati Das and Sati Das to the care of Guru Har Rai, who had assured the dying man of his full attention and help. Both the lads remained attached to the Guru's family at Kiratpur. When Guru Har Krishan was summoned to Delhi by Aurangzeb, both the brothers, Mati Das and Sati Das, were present in his entourage along with his brother Dayal Dass and Gurditta, a descendant of Bhai Budha (different from Baba Gurditta, the son of Guru Hargobind, brother of Guru Teg Bahadur and father of Guru Har Rai).

5. The title of Bhai was first given to a Kashmiri Brahmin family settled in Kiratpur. It was their nephew Chaupa Singh Chibber who compiled the first Rehat Maryada. He served the last three gurus. He was the care-taker of Guru Gobind Singh.

6. Bhai Kesar Singh Chhibber, son of Gurbaksh Singh, wrote 'Bansavalinama Dasan Patshahian Ka' his work in 1779 AD. He served Mata Sundari (wife of Guru Gobind Singh). Many descendants of this extended Chhibber clan of Karyala (Bhai Charan Singh, Bhai Gaj Singh, Bhai Wazir Singh and Bhai Jai Bhan) were entrusted with senior posts during the rule of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, and awarded jagirs and stipends. They were issued certificates of honour, exempted from paying salt-tax and severe punishments were provisioned for anyone disturbing the peace of their families.

7. Baba Praga Sen (1507—1638) laid the foundation of Karyala, which remained the home of the Chhibbers for 450 years till the Partition of India in 1947. Praga became a disciple of Guru Nanak Dev. After Guru Nanak Dev, Baba Praga played an important part during the lifetime of the next five Gurus: Guru Angad Dev, Guru Amar Das, Guru Ram Das,Guru Arjan Dev and Guru Har Gobind. In the year 1638, he fought with Paindah Khan, the Governor of Lahore. Baba Praga was wounded and died on his return to Karyala. His samadhi stands on the outskirts of Karyala and another memorial was raised in Kabul at ‘Char Bagh’. The cross section beyond Sarai Guru Ram Das on the periphery of the Golden Temple Complex at Amritsar is named Chowk Praga Das after him. His loyalty and spiritual devotion to different Gurus particularly Guru Arjan Dev finds a mention in the book Suraj Prakash.

8.Praga Das' son, Durga Das was the Diwan of Guru Har Gobind and the seventh Guru, Guru Har Rai. His son, Lakhi Das was anointed to the same post but he died soon afterwards and Durga Mal held that position until Guru Har Krishan. 

9. Several of the advisors, head of bodyguards and army generals of Maharaja Ranjit Singh were Brahmins. 

More Myths from the Khalistani Brigade

Sikhs Saved the whole of India - crazy Khalistani Myth

One well known Myth created by these Talibanised Neo-Sikhs is that Sikhs saved 95% of India ( Read 'ungrateful' Hindus ). It is one of the most common & repeated myths that has been propagated thanks to the illiterate turban wearing Khalistani Jatts to make it look that Sikhs had indeed saved the whole of India from Islamic conversion. Let's take a look shall we?

The Maratha Empire or the Maratha Confederacy was an Hindu imperial power that existed from 1674 to 1818. At its peak, the empire covered much of India, encompassing a territory of over 2.8 million km². The Marathas, lead by Chattrapati Shivaji are credited for ending the Mughal rule in India. By 1734, most of India had been re-captured from the clutches of the Islamic rulers, by the Marathas.

The Marathas were a Hindu warrior group from the western Deccan that rose to prominence during the rule of the Adil Shahi dynasty andAhmadnagar Sultanate. The empire was founded and consolidated by Chhatrapati ('Emperor') Shivaji Bhosle, who created an independent empire with Raigad as its capital, and successfully fought against the Mughal Empire.  The Maratha Empire waged war for 27 years with the Mughals from 1681 to 1707, which became the longest war in the history of India. The Marathas eventually emerged victorious. Shivaji pioneered "Shiva sutra" or Ganimi Kava (guerrilla tactics), which leveraged strategic factors like demographics, speed, surprise and focused attack to defeat his bigger and more powerful enemies. Venkoji, the younger half-brother of Shivaji, founded the Thanjavur Maratha kingdom.

Maratha Confederacy by 1750

Afterwards, Shahu, a grandson of Shivaji, became ruler. During this period, he appointed Peshwas as the prime ministers of the Maratha Empire. After the death of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, the empire expanded greatly under the rule of the Peshwas. The empire at its peak stretched from Tamil Nadu in the south, to Peshawar (modern-day Pakistan) on the Afghanistan border in the north, and led expeditions to Bengal in the east.

More on Shivaji Maratha 

Shivaji was a Maratha aristocrat of the Bhosle clan who founded the Maratha empire. Shivaji led a resistance to free the Maratha people from the Sultanate of Bijapur, and re-establish Hindavi Swarajya ("self-rule of Hindu people"). He created an independent Maratha kingdom with Vedant Raigad as its capital, and successfully fought against the Mughals to defend his kingdom. He was crowned as Chhatrapati('sovereign') of the Maratha empire in 1674.

The Marathas had lived in the Desh region around Pune for a long time, in the western portion of the Deccan, where the plateau meets the eastern slopes of the Western Ghats. They had resisted incursions into the region by the Mughal rulers of northern India. Under their leader Shivaji, the Marathas freed themselves from the Muslim Turkic sultans of Bijapur to the southeast under the leadership of Shivaji, and became much more aggressive, frequently raiding Mughal territory and ransacking the Mughal port of Surat in 1664 and again in 1670. In 1674 Shivaji proclaimed himself king, taking the title Chhatrapati. By the time of Shivaji's death in 1680, the Marathas had expanded their territory to include many parts of central and south India. According to Indian historian Tryambak Shankar Shejwalkar, Shivaji was inspired by the Vijayanagara Empire, a bulwark against the Muslim invasion of South India. The victories of the then king of Mysore, Kanthirava Narasaraja I against the Sultan of Bijapur also inspired Shivaji.

Sambhaji Maratha

Shivaji had two sons: Sambhaji and Rajaram. Sambhaji, the elder son, was very popular among the courtiers. In 1681, Sambhaji had himself crowned and resumed his father's expansionist policies. Sambhaji had earlier defeated the Portuguese and Chikka Deva Raya of Mysore. To nullify any Rajput-Maratha alliance, as well as the Deccan Sultanates, the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb himself headed south in 1681. With his entire imperial court, administration, and an army of about 500,000 troops he proceeded to conquer the entire Maratha Empire along with the sultanates of Bijapur and Golconda. During the eight years that followed, Sambhaji led the Marathas, never losing a battle or a fort to Aurangzeb. Aurangzeb had almost lost the campaign but for an event in early 1689. Sambhaji called his commanders for a strategic meeting at Sangameshwar to decide on the final onslaught on the Mughal forces. In a meticulously planned operation, Ganoji Shirke and Aurangzeb's commander, Mukarrab Khan attacked Sangameshwar when Sambhaji was accompanied by a few men. Sambhaji was ambushed and captured by Mughal troops on 1 February 1689. He and his advisor, Kavi Kalash were taken to Bahadurgad. Sambhaji and Kavi Kalash executed for rebellion against the Empire on 11 March 1689.

Rajaram & Maharani Tarabai

Rajaram, Sambhaji's brother, now assumed the throne. Mughals laid siege to Raigad. Rajaram fled to Vishalgad and then to Ginge for safety. From there, the Marathas raided the Mughal territory and many forts were captured by Maratha commanders Santaji Ghorpade, Dhanaji Jadhav, Parshuram Pant Pratinidhi, Shankaraji Narayan Sacheev, and Melgiri Pandit.  In 1697, Rajaram offered a truce but this was rejected by the emperor. Rajaram died in 1700 at Sinhagad. His widow, Tarabai, assumed control in the name of her son Ramaraja (Shivaji II). Then Tarabai heroically led the Marathas against the Mughals; by 1705, they had crossed the Narmada River and entered Malwa, then in Mughal possession.

Malwa was a decisive battle for the Maratha Empire. The Mughals lost their eminent position on the Indian subcontinent forever and the subsequent Mughal emperors became titular rulers. The Marathas emerged victorious after a long drawn-out and fiercely fought battle. The soldiers and commanders who participated in this war achieved the real expansion of the Maratha Empire. The victory also set the foundations for the imperial conquests achieved later, under the Peshwas.

Ramchandra Pant Amatya Bawdekar was a court administrator who rose from the ranks of a local Kulkarni to the ranks of Ashtapradhan under guidance and support of Shivaji. When Rajaram fled to Jinji in 1689 leaving Maratha Empire, he gave a "Hukumat Panha" (King Status) to Pant before leaving. Ramchandra Pant managed the entire state under many challenges like influx of Mughals, betrayal from Vatandars (local satraps under the Maratha state) and social challenges like scarcity of food. With the help of Pantpratinidhi, Sachiv, he kept the economic condition of Maratha Empire in an appropriate state. He wrote Adnyapatra in which he has explained different techniques of war, maintenance of forts and administration etc.

Shahuji

After Aurangzeb's death in 1707, Shahuji, son of Sambhaji (and grandson of Shivaji), was released by Azam Shah, the next Mughal emperor, under conditions that rendered him a vassal of the Mughal emperor but his mother was still held captive to ensure good behaviour from Shahuji. He immediately claimed the Maratha throne and challenged his aunt Tarabai and her son. This promptly turned the now-spluttering Mughal-Maratha war into a three-cornered affair. The states of Satara and Kolhapur came into being in 1707, because of the succession dispute over the Maratha kingship. By 1710, two separate principalities had become an established fact, eventually confirmed by the Treaty of Warna in 1731.

In 1713, Furrukhsiyar declared himself Mughal emperor. His bid for power depended heavily on two brothers, known as the Saiyids, one of whom was the governor of Allahabad and the other the governor of Patna. However, the brothers had a falling-out with the emperor. Negotiations between the Saiyids andPeshwa Balaji Vishwanath, a civilian representative of Shahu, drew the Marathas into the vendetta against the Mughal emperor.

In 1714, an army of Marathas commanded by Parsoji Bhosale marched up to Delhi unopposed and managed to depose the Mughal emperor.  In return for this help, Balaji Vishwanath managed to negotiate a substantial treaty. Shahuji would have to accept Mughal rule in the Deccan, furnish forces for the imperial army, and pay an annual tribute. But in return, he received a firman, or imperial directive, guaranteeing him Swaraj, or independence, in the Maratha homeland, plus rights to chauth and sardeshmukh (amounting to 35 percent of the total revenue) throughout Gujarat, Malwa, and the now six provinces of the Mughal Deccan. This treaty also released Yesubai, Shahuji's mother, from Mughal prison.

During regime of Shahu, Raghuji Bhosale expanded the empire in East reaching present-day Bangladesh. Senapati Dabhade expanded in West. Peshwa Bajirao and his three chiefs Pawar (Dhar), Holkar (Indore) and Scindia (Gwalior) expanded in North. These all houses became hereditary, thereby undermining kings authority in due course of time.

The Peshwa Era (1749 to 1761)

During this era, Peshwas controlled the Maratha army and later became the hereditary rulers of the Maratha Empire from 1749 to 1818. During their rein, the Maratha empire reached its zenith ruling most of the Indian Subcontinent. Prior to 1700, one Peshwa received the status of imperial regent for eight or nine years. They oversaw the greatest expansion of the Maratha Empire around 1760 with the help of Sardars like Holkar, Scindia, Bhosale, Pantpratinidhi, Gaekwad (Dhane), Panse, Vinchurkar, Pethe, Raste, Phadke, Patwardhan, Pawar, Pandit ,Purandare and Mehendale, until its eventual annexation by the British East India Company in 1818.

Ramachandra Pant Amatya

Ramchandra Pant Amatya Bawdekar was a court administrator who rose from the ranks of a local Kulkarni to the ranks of Ashtapradhan under guidance and support of Shivaji. He was one of the prominent Peshwas from the time of Shivaji, prior to the rise of the later Peshwas who controlled the empire after Shahuji.

When Chhatrapati Rajaram fled to Jinji in 1689 leaving Maratha Empire, he gave a "Hukumat Panha" (King Status) to Pant before leaving. Ramchandra Pant managed the entire state under many challenges like influx of Mughals, betrayal from Vatandars (local satraps under the Maratha state) and social challenges like scarcity of food. With the help of Pantpratinidhi, Sachiv, he kept the economic condition of Maratha Empire in an appropriate state.

He received military help from the Maratha commanders – Santaji Ghorpade and Dhanaji Jadhav. On many occasions he himself participated in battles against Mughals and played the role of shadow ruler in absence of Chhatrapati Rajaram.

In 1698, he happily stepped down from the post of "Hukumat Panha" when Rajaram offered this post to his wife, Tarabai. Tarabai gave an important position to Pant among senior administrators of Maratha State. He wrote "Adnyapatra"  in which he has explained different techniques of war, maintenance of forts and administration etc. But owing to his loyalty to Tarabai against Shahuji (who was supported by more local satraps), he was sidelined after arrival of Shahuji in 1707.

Baji Rao I

After Balaji Vishwanath's death in April 1720, his son, Baji Rao I was appointed as Peshwa by Chattrapati Shahuji, one of the most liberal emperors. Shahuji possessed a strong capacity for recognising talent, and actually caused a social revolution by bringing capable people into power irrespective of their social status. This was an indication of a great social mobility within the Maratha Empire, enabling its rapid expansion.

Pandit Baji Rao Vishwanath Bhatt (18 August 1700 – 25 April 1740), also known as Baji Rao I, was a noted Brahmin general who served as Peshwa (Prime Minister) to the fourth Maratha Chhatrapati (Emperor) Shahu between 1720 until death. During his lifetime, he never lost a battle. He is credited with expanding the Maratha Empire especially in north that reached its zenith twenty years after his death. Peshwa Bajirao fought over 41 battles and is reputed to have never lost one. Battle of Palkhed was a land battle that took place on 28 February 1728 at the village of Palkhed, near the city of Nashik, Maharashtra, India between Baji Rao I and the Nizam-ul-Mulk of Hyderabad. The Marathas defeated the Nizam. The battle is considered an example of brilliant execution of military strategy. The Battle of Vasai was fought between the Marathas and the Portuguese rulers of Vasai, a village lying near Bombay in the present-day state of Maharashtra, India. The Marathas were led by Chimaji Appa, a brother of Peshwa Baji Rao I. Maratha victory in this war was a major achievement of Baji Rao I reign.

Balaji Rao

Baji Rao's son, Balaji Bajirao (Nanasaheb), was appointed as a Peshwa by Shahuji. The period between 1741 and 1745 was one of comparative calm in the Deccan.  Shahuji died in 1749 bequething power to peshwa with condition that the dignity of house of Shivaji will be maintained and also welfare of subjects will be looked after.

In 1740, the Maratha forces came down upon Arcot and invaded the Nawab of Arcot, Dost Ali in the pass of Damalcherry. In the war that followed, Dost Ali, one of his sons Hasan Ali, and a number of prominent persons lost their lives. This initial success at once enhanced Maratha prestige in the south. From Damalcherry the Marathas proceeded to Arcot. It surrendered to them without much resistance. Then, Raghuji invested Trichinopoly in December 1740. Unable to resist, Chanda Saheb delivered the fort to Raghuji on 14 March 1741, on the day of Ram Navami. Chanda Saheb and his son were arrested and sent to Nagpur.

After the successful campaign of Karnatak and Battle of Trichinopolly, Raghuji returned from Karnatak. He undertook six expeditions in Bengal from 1741–1748. Raghuji was able to annexe Odisha to his kingdom permanently as he successfully exploited the chaotic conditions prevailing in Bengal, Bihar and Odisha after the death of their Governor Murshid Quli Khan in 1727. Constantly harassed by the Bhonsles, Odisha or Katak, Bengal and parts of Bihar were economically ruined. Alivardi Khan, Nawab of Bengal made peace with Raghuji in 1751 ceding in perpetuity Katak up to the river Suvarnarekha, and agreeing to pay Rs.1.2 million annually in lieu of the Chauth of Bengal and Bihar. The smaller States of Raipur, Ratanpur, Bilaspur and Sambalpur belonging to Chhattisgad territory were conquered by Bhaskar Ram, and were placed in charge of Mohansingh, an illegitimate son of Raghuji. Towards the end of his career, Raghuji had conquered the whole of Berar; the Gond kingdoms of Devgad including Nagpur, Gadha-Mandla and Chandrapur; the Subha of Katak; and the smaller states spreading between Nagpur and Katak.

Pandit Ragunath Rao

Continued expansion saw Raghunath Rao, the brother of Nanasaheb, pushing into in the wake of the Afghan withdrawal after Ahmed Shah Abdali's plunder of Delhi in 1756. Delhi was captured by Maratha army under Raghunath Rao in August 1757 defeating Afghan garrison in the Battle of Delhi. This laid the foundation for the Maratha conquest of North-west India, including Punjab. In Lahore, as in Delhi, the Marathas were now major players.

Raghoba's letter to Peshwa Balaji Bajirao, 4 May 1758:

Lahore, Multan, Kashmir and other subhas on this side of Attock are under our rule for the most part, and places which have not come under our rule we shall soon bring under us. Ahmad Shah Durrani's son Timur Shah Durrani and Jahan Khan have been pursued by our troops, and their troops completely looted. Both of them have now reached Peshawar with a few broken troops. So Ahmad Shah Durrani has returned to Kandahar with some 12–14 thousand broken troops. Thus all have risen against Ahmad who has lost control over the region. We have decided to extend our rule up to Kandahar.Pandit Raghinath Rao and his troops entered Amritsar and cleaned up the Shri Harimandir temple which had been defiled by the Muslim troops.

In September 1758, Sambaji Bhosle was appointed governor of Punjab. 

Marathas Capture Peshawar & most of Punjab

On 8 May 1758, the Marathas captured Peshawar, defeating the Afghan troops in the Battle of Peshawar. In 1759, The Marathas underSadashivrao Bhau (referred to as the Bhau or Bhao in sources) responded to the news of the Afghans' return to North India by sending a big army to North. Bhau's force was bolstered by some Maratha forces under Holkar, Scindia, Gaikwad and Govind Pant Bundele. The combined army of over 100,000 regular troops had re-captured the former Mughal capital, Delhi, from an Afghan garrison in August 1760. Delhi had been reduced to ashes many times due to previous invasions, and in addition there being acute shortage of supplies in the Maratha camp. Bhau ordered the sacking of the already depopulated city. He is said to have planned to place his nephew and the Peshwa's son, Vishwasrao, on the Mughal throne. By 1760, with defeat of the Nizam in the Deccan, Maratha power had reached its zenith with a territory of over 2,800,000 km² acres.

Ahmad Shah Durrani, then called Rohillas and Nawab of Oudh to assist him in driving out 'infidel' Marathas from Delhi. Huge armies of Muslim forces and Marathas collided with each other on 14 January 1761 in the Third Battle of Panipat. The Maratha army lost the battle which halted imperial expansion.

Mahadaji  Sindhia 

Mahadaji Sindhia was the Maratha ruler of the state of Gwalior in central India. Mahadaji was instrumental in resurrecting Maratha power after the debacle of the Third Battle of Panipat in 1761, and rose to become a trusted lieutenant of the Peshwa, leader of the Maratha Empire, as well as the Mughal king Shah Alam II.

He took full advantage of the system of neutrality pursued by the British to resurrect Maratha power over Northern India. In this he was assisted by Benoît de Boigne who increased Sindhia's regular forces to three brigades. With these troops Sindhia became a power in northern India.

After the growth in power of feudal lords like Malwa sardars, landlords of Bundelkhand and Rajput kingdoms of Rajasthan, they refused to pay tribute to Mahadji. So he sent his army conquer the states such as Bhopal, Datiya, Chanderi (1782), Narwar, Salbai and Gohad. He launched an expedition against the Raja of Jaipur, but withdrew after the inconclusive Battle of Lalsot in 1787.The strong fort of Gwalior was then in the hands of Chhatar Singh, the Jat ruler of Gohad. In 1783, Mahadji besieged the fort of Gwalior and conquered it. He delegated the administration of Gwalior to Khanderao Hari Bhalerao. After celebrating the conquest of Gwalior, Mahadji Shinde turned his attention to Delhi.

In early 1771, ten years after the collapse of Maratha supremacy in North India following the Third Battle of Panipat, Mahadji recaptured Delhi and installedShah Alam II as the puppet ruler on the Mughal throne,  receiving in return the title of deputy Vakil-ul-Mutlak or vice-regent of the Empire and that ofVakil-ul-Mutlak being at his request conferred on the Peshwa. The Mughals also gave him the title of Amir-ul-Amara(head of the amirs).Mahadji ruled the Punjab as it used to be a Mughal territory and Sikh sardars and other Rajas of the Sutlej region paid tributes to him.

The Battle of Gajendragad was fought between the Marathas under the command of Tukojirao Holkar (the adopted son of Malharrao Holkar) and Tipu Sultanfrom March 1786 to March 1787 in which Tipu Sultan was defeated by the Marathas. By the victory in this battle, the border of the Maratha territory extended till Tungabhadra river.

In 1788 Mahadji's armies defeated Ismail Beg, a Mughal noble who resisted the Marathas. The Rohilla chief Ghulam Kadir, Ismail Beg's ally, took over Delhi, capital of the Mughal dynasty, and deposed and blinded the king Shah Alam II, placing a puppet on the Delhi throne. Mahadji intervened, taking possession of Delhi on 2 October, restoring Shah Alam II to the throne and acting as his protector. Mahadji sent Benoît de Boigne to crush the forces of Jaipur at Patan (20 June 1790) and the armies of Marwar at Merta on 10 September 1790.

By the early 1700's Rajputs had full control over their domains & territories, while the South of Delhi was ruled by Jat Hindu Kings. The Hindu/Sikhs were able to gain control most of Punjab after 1700 though the Marathas maintained rule over Punjab during Mahdaji Sindhia's time. 

The Khalistani Neo Sikhs will never tell us this true account of Hindu history of how bravely the Rajputs as well as Marathas have fought off Islam for 700 years, but will want us to fall for their Bullshit myth of how 'Sikhs' saved the whole of India & Hindus from the clutches of Islam. 

Here is a map showing the entire of India during Maratha resistance of 700 years against Islamic fascism. So can any Khalistani bigotted idiot please tell any of us gullible Sikhs that did we actually save the ungrateful Hindus - or was it the other way around?

The Third Battle of Panipat saw an enormous number of deaths and injuries in a single day of battle. It was the last major battle between indigenous South Asian military powers until the creation of Pakistan in 1947.

To save their kingdom, the Mughals once again changed sides and welcomed the Afghans to Delhi. The Mughals remained in nominal control over small areas of India, but were never a force again. The empire officially ended in 1857 when its last emperor, Bahadur Shah II, was accused of being involved in the Sepoy Mutiny and exiled.

The Marathas' expansion was stopped in the battle, and infighting soon broke out within the empire. They never regained any unity. They recovered their position under the next PeshwaMadhavrao I and by 1771 were back in control of the north, finally occupying Delhi. However, after the death of Madhavrao, due to infighting and increasing pressure from the British, their claims to empire only officially ended in 1818 after three wars with the British.

Meanwhile the Sikhs—whose rebellion was the original reason Ahmad invaded—were left largely untouched by the battle. They soon retook Lahore. When Ahmad Shah returned in March 1764 he was forced to break off his siege after only two weeks due to a rebellion in Afghanistan. He returned again in 1767, but was unable to win any decisive battle. With his own troops complaining about not being paid, he eventually abandoned the district to the Khalsa, who remained in control until 1849.

Many historians, including British historians of the time, have argued that had it not been for the weakening of Maratha power at Panipat, the British might never have gotten a strong foothold in India.

Latest News on Christian conversions in Punjab

AMRITSAR: Religious conversions have generally raised the hackles of the clergy and bodies associated with the affected religion. The villages along the national border in Punjab are the latest affected, with cases of conversion of some Sikhs and Hindus to Christianity. Sikh bodies have called for revamping of Sikhism-preaching institutions to combat the trend.

           

Village Nagoke along the country's border lies in Amritsar district. Lying adjacent to the border, these villages have witnessed upheavals of communal tension. Since independence, however, they have settled down to a predominantly Sikh and Hindu population. Happenings and reports over the last couple of weeks have shown minor signs of a will to accept change in the religious texture. Christian missionary bodies preaching redressal of social ills supplemented with financial help have gained acceptance among a section of the economically backward.

          Religious conversion is already a sensitive issue that has raised the hackles in other parts of the country. Here too, whereas some claim it to be a balm that Christianity provides, others dismiss it as downright bribery given in the name of faith. Says one of the young boys whose family has converted to Christianity, "As a child I remember my father coming home drunk and shouting at us without any control. There was no food in the house and we were reduced to beggary. Once, some missionaries came home and taught us lessons for a better life. "This made my father give up his bad habits and he started going to work. With the Lord's blessings things changed for the better. My father adopted Christianity and I followed suit."

           Another villager, however, puts it down to giving away of material favours by the missionaries who are convincing the villagers to convert. "When I asked the boys as to why they have converted to Christianity, they said they had been given cash and free education. In our village alone, 5 to 6 people have converted and, of course, their generations to come would also be Christians", he says.

          Prayer meetings like this one held regularly in the area preach the message of Christianity which is said to be attracting the populace. Six churches have already come up over an area of 4 or 5 villages. On their part, Sikh experts and religious leaders have called for an awakening on the part of Sikh preachers and social workers to revive the tenets of peace and equality that lie at the core of the Sikh religion too. It is all, they say, about getting the message accross.

           Gurbachan Singh Bachan, former Secretary of the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee, says " People who are converting from Hinduism and Sikhism to Christianity are those who have lost understanding of their own religion. "Under the moral and ethical extension programme, the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee, Singh Sabha, Chief Khalsa Diwan, Khalsa institutions and the Government need to educate the people about the values of a religion, and tell them that all religions are equal and no religion teaches us to fight with each other."

           Villagers who are against the working of the missionaries have urged imposition of control, if not ban, on their activities before tensions rise further. Somewhere though, this is also a pointer to maladies that have crept into Sikhism and Hinduism that need to be looked into quickly. Former SGPC general secretary Bibi Kiranjot Kaur puts it down as the failure of the committee of religious preachers. "The Sikh preachers who go to the villages and teach the message of the Gurus have failed to reach out to the people and change their attitude. They have not moulded themselves according to the demands of the day. They need to be given orientation and a form of training so they can carry out their duties in an effective manner, as per the demands of the changing times."

           The divider between religious groups working to remove social ills and, as alleged, handing out money and blatant incentives for conversion, is a thin one indeed touching on issues of ethics +and religious sentiment. The response, perhaps, lies on which side of that divide one is on.

AMRITSAR SAHIB (August 21, 2012)–According to sources, today at approximately 3:30pm (India time), 40 Sikhs have converted to Christianity in the village Dhotian (ਢੌਟੀਆਂ) in district Tarn Taran. There are 31 Gurdwaras in the village and one historical shrine, Gurdwara Raja Ram in memory of Baba Bir Singh Naurangabad. Langar is served in the village’s large Gurdwara, but the Mahzbi Sikhs, or so-called “low castes,” are refused entry–contrary to the tenets of the Sikh faith.

For the past few years, Baba Jagtar Singh of Tarn Taran Sahib has been doing ‘Kar Sewa’ (construction service). They have demolished the historical Gurdwara and rebuilt it in the name of sewa. Millions of rupees have been spent on the construction of a Gate and Langar Hall in which the so-called low castes are not allowed entry. Baba Jagtar Singh and the rest of his sewadars (volunteers) have been witnessed talking down to the so-called low caste Sikhs.

This was the first missionary tour by the Christians in the village, which has led to 40 conversions of Sikhs who originate from the so-called low caste backgrounds. It is likely in the next missionary tour they will construct a church in the village.

It is noteworthy that this is the village of the writer Jagjit Singh who authored the book ‘Sikh Inqalaab’ (Sikh Revolution) in which he strongly condemned the caste system and caste discrimination, in line with the Sikh faith. Since the time of the early Sikh Gurus, this village has been on the forefront for giving sacrifices for the Sikh religion and maintaining the Sikh religion.

One of the leaders of the local Sikh youth who have been fighting the so-called “Kar Sewa Sant” (Jagtar Singh) and caste discrimination said, “If the Christians make a church then they will invest 50,000 rupees because they want the poor Sikhs (from the lower social backgrounds) to join them and give them equal status.”

One group of Christian missionaries is very active on the banks of the River Beas in the village Dhahian. The ‘Mahzbi’ Sikhs in the villages where great Sikh freedom fighters hailed from like Shaheed Bhai Manochahal, Sangha, Naushira, Vein Poin, Nagoke, Sakheera and others are being groomed and converting to Christianity in large numbers. Churches are being constructed in which they are getting children to sing the praises of Jesus on loud speakers so that all the villagers can hear.

Sikh groups are asking Akal Takht Sahib to take strict action against the Saadh Jagtar Singh and his men who are not only demolishing historical Gurdwaras in the name of ‘Kar Sewa’ but committing a grave sin in the garb of Sikhs by pushing the poor and Mahzbi Sikhs away from the Sikh religion.

Pirates in Priest's Clothing

Continuing with exposing Christianity and its true agenda of imperialism in India. Written by Sita Ram Goel

The next encounter between Hinduism and Christianity commenced with the coming of Christian missionaries to Malabar after Vasco da Gama found his way to Calicut in AD 1498. It took a serious turn in AD 1542 when Francis Xavier, a rapacious pirate dressed up as a priest, arrived on the scene. The proceedings have been preserved by the Christian participants. They make the most painful reading in the history of Christianity in India. Francis Xavier had come with the firm resolve of 'uprooting paganism' from the soil of India and planting Christianity in its place. His sayings and doings have been documented in his numerous biographies and cited by every historian of the Portuguese episode in the history of India.

Francis Xavier was convinced that Hindus could not be credited with the intelligence to know what was good for them. They were completely under the spell of the Brahmanas who, in turn, were in league with evil spirits. The first priority in India, therefore, was to free the poor Hindus from the stranglehold of the Brahmanas and destroy the places where evil spirits were worshipped. A bounty for the Church was bound to follow in the form of mass conversions.¹

We shall let a Christian historian speak about what the Portuguese did in their Indian domain. 'At least from 1540 onwards,' writes Dr. T. R. de Souza 'and in the island of Goa before that year, all the Hindu idols had been annihilated or had disappeared, all the temples had been destroyed and their sites and building materials were in most cases utilised to erect new Christian churches and chapels. Various vice regal and Church council decrees banished the Hindu priests from the Portuguese territories; the public practice of Hindu rites including marriage rites, was banned; the state took upon itself the task of bringing up the Hindu orphan children; the Hindus were denied certain employments, while the Christians were preferred; it was ensured that the Hindus would not harass those who became Christians, and on the contrary, the Hindus were obliged to assemble periodically in churches to listen to preaching or to the refutation of their religion.'²

Coming to the performance of the missionaries, he continues: 'A particularly grave abuse was practised in Goa in the form of 'mass baptism' and what went before it. The practice was begun by the Jesuits and was later initiated by the Franciscans also. The Jesuits staged an annual mass baptism on the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul (25 January), and in order to secure as many neophytes as possible, a few days before the ceremony the Jesuits would go through the streets of the Hindu quarters in pairs, accompanied by their Negro slaves, whom they would urge to seize the Hindus. When the blacks caught up a fugitive, they would smear his lips with a piece of beef, making him an 'untouchable' among his people. Conversion to Christianity was then his only option.'³

Finally, he comes to 'Financing Church Growth' and concludes: '...the government transferred to the Church and religious orders the properties and other sources of revenue that had belonged to the Hindu temples that had been demolished or to the temple servants who had been converted or banished. Entire villages were taken over at times for being considered rebellious and handed over with all their revenues to the Jesuits. In the villages that had submitted themselves, at times en masse, to being converted, the religious orders promoted competition to build bigger and bigger churches and more chapels than their neighbouring villages. Such a competition, drawing funds and diverting labour, from other important welfare works of the village, was decisively bringing the village economy in Goa into bankruptcy.'⁴

During the same period, Christianity was spreading its tentacles to Bengal. its patrons were the same as in Goa; so also its means and methods. 'The conversion of the Bengalis into Christianity,' writes Dr. Sisir Kumar Das, 'not only coincided with the activities of the Portuguese pirates in Bengal but the pirates took an active interest in it.'⁵ The Augustinians and Jesuits manned the mission with bases at Chittagong in East Bengal and Bandel and Hooghly in West Bengal. Mission stations were established at many places in the interior. 'It was the boast of the Hooghly Portuguese,' records Dr. P. Thomas, 'that they made more Christians in a year by forcible conversions, of course, than all the missionaries in the East in ten.'⁶

The Portuguese captured the young prince of Bhushna, an estate in Dhaka District. He was converted by an Augustinian friar, Father D'Rozario and named Dom Antonio de Rozario. The prince, in turn, converted 20,000 Hindus in and around his estate. 'The Jesuits came forward,' continues Dr. Das, 'to help the neophytes to minister to the needs of the converts and this created bitterness between Augustinians and Jesuits... In 1677, the Provincial at Goa deputed Father Anthony Magalheans, the Rector of the College at Agra, to visit and report on this problem. According to his report nearly 25,000, if not more, converts were there but they had hardly any knowledge of Christianity.... He also observed that many of them became Christians to get money. The Marsden Manuscripts now preserved in the British Museum containing letters of Jesuit Fathers, give evidence that Portuguese missionaries gave money to perspective converts to allure them.'⁷

The quality of the converts, though bewailed frequently by the missionaries, did not really perturb them. Frey Duarte Nunes, the prelate of Goa, had foreseen the situation as early as 1522. According to him, 'even if the first generation of converts was attracted by rice or by any other way and could hardly be expected to become good Christians, yet their children would become so with intensive indoctrination, and each successive generation would be more firmly rooted.'⁸

It was a very difficult situation for Hinduism. But, by and large, Hindus chose to stay in the faith of their forefathers in spite of all trials and temptations. There was no mass movement towards the Church except the 'mass baptisms' staged by the Jesuits. The mission was in a fix. The strategy of forced conversions recommended by Francis Xavier had failed.

Another Jesuit, Robert Di Nobili, came forward with a new strategy. When he came to the Madura Mission in 1606, he had found it a 'desert' in terms of conversions. He had also seen that Hindus had retained their reverence for the Brahmanas in spite of missionary insinuations. So he decided that he would disguise himself as a Brahmana and preach the gospel by other means. The story is well-known - how he put on an ochre robe, wore the sacred thread, grew a tuft of hair on his head, took to vegetarian food, etc., in order to pass as a Brahmana. He also composed some books in Tamil and Sanskrit, particularly the one which he palmed off as the Yajurveda. When some Hindus suspected from the colour of his skin that he was a Christian, he lied with a straight face that he was a high-born Brahmana from Rome!

Some Christian historians credit Di Nobili with converting a hundred thousand Hindus. Others put the figure at a few hundred. But all agree that his converts melted away very fast soon after he was exposed by other missionaries who were either jealous of him or did not like his methods. Christian theologians hail him as the pioneer of Indigenisation in India and the founder of the first Christian Ashram. A truly ethical criterion would dismiss him as a desperate and despicable scoundrel.⁹

One wonders how Hinduism would have fared in South India if its encounter with Christianity under the Portuguese dispensation had continued uninterrupted. Hindus were helpless wherever Portuguese power prevailed and Hindus outside could not help as they themselves were groaning under the heel of Islamic imperialism after the defeat of the Vijayanagara Empire by a Muslim alliance in 1565 AD. The situation was saved by the Dutch in the second quarter of the seventeenth century. The Dutch destroyed the maritime monopoly of the Portuguese and drove them out of Malabar and southern Tamil Nadu. Christianity had to break its encounter with Hinduism except in the small Portuguese enclaves where it continued for two more centuries. But most of the heat applied on Hinduism had to be taken off because 'the fear of retaliatory raids by the powerful Marathas in the neighbourhood acted as an effective check on the missionary zeal and coercion.'¹⁰

A plausible case has been made by Christian historians, namely, that the Portuguese were using Christianity as a cover for their predatory imperialism. But what about the Augustinians and the Dominicans and the Franciscans, all of whom belonged to the holy orders? And what about Francis Xavier and his Jesuits? It cannot be overlooked that the Catholic Church hails an-arch criminal like Francis Xavier as the Patron Saint of the East. His carcass (or plaster cast) is still worshipped as a holy relic and the basilica where it is enshrined remains a place of Christian pilgrimage. It is shameless dishonesty to say that the Christian doctrine had nothing to do with the atrocities practised in Goa and Bengal and elsewhere under the Portuguese dispensation.
 

Footnotes:

¹ Francis Xavier was the pioneer of anti-Brahmanism which was adopted in due course as a major plank in the missionary propaganda by all Christian denominations. Lord Minto, Governor General of India from 1807 to 1812, submitted a Note to his superiors in London when the British Parliament was debating whether missionaries should be permitted in East India Company's domain under the Charter of 1813. He enclosed with his Note some 'propaganda material used by the missionaries' and, referring to one missionary tract in particular, wrote: 'The remainder of this tract seems to aim principally at a general massacre of the Brahmanas' (M. D. David (ed.), Western Colonialism in Asia and Christianity, Bombay, 1988, p. 85). Anti-Brahmanism has become the dominant theme in the speeches and writings of Indian secularists of all sorts.

² M.D. David (ed.), op. cit., p. 17.
³ Ibid., p. 19.

⁴ Ibid., pp. 24-35. For a detailed account of Christian doings in Goa, see A.K. Priolkar, The Goa Inquisition, Bombay, 1961, Voice of India reprint, New Delhi, 1991 and 1996.

⁵ Sisir Kumar Das, The Shadow of the Cross, New Delhi, 1974, p. 4.
⁶ P. Thomas, Christians and Christianity in India and Pakistan, London, 1954, p. 114.
⁷ Sisir Kumar Das, op. cat., p. 5.
⁸ M. D. David (ed.), op. cit., p. 8.

⁹ The masquerade of Robert Di Nobili has been described in detail in Sita Ram Goel, Catholic Ashrams: Sannyasins or Swindlers?, Voice of India, New Delhi, 1995.

¹⁰ M.D. David (ed.), op. cit., p. 19.